Isaac Adewole, minister of
health, and Attahiru Ibrahim, acting executive secretary of the National Health
Insurance Scheme (NHIS) have been summoned to the presidential villa in Abuja.

Ayo Osinlu, head, media and
public relations of the scheme, disclosed this to NAN on Wednesday.

This could be in relation to the
reinstatement of Usman Yusuf, suspended executive secretary of the
organisation, by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Osinlu said Yusuf had not
reported to the office since his reinstatement

“NHIS Executive Secretary, Prof.
Usman Yusuf is yet to resume office after his reinstatement by the federal
government on Tuesday, February 6,” NAN quoted him to have said.

“The acting executive secretary,
Malam Attahiru Ibrahim, and the Minister of Health, Prof. Issac Adewole, were
invited to the Presidential Villa and we are waiting the outcome of the
meeting.”

In July, Isaac Adewole, minister
of health, suspended Yusuf for three months over allegations of fraud.

Adewole had set up a committee to
probe the NHIS ES. The minister said the investigative committee found Yusuf
culpable in the discharge of his responsibilities.

At the end of the three months,
the minister extended the suspension indefinitely.

The minister said while the
report of the committee had been forwarded to the president, Yusuf’s suspension
had been extended “pending the decision of Mr President”.

The executive seretary had
challenged the authority of Adewole, arguing that only Buhari could take such
action against him.

He had said the allegations
referred to by the minister were also being investigated by the Independent
Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), which had not
submitted its findings as of the time he was asked to step aside.

But Adewole said Yusuf’s response
to the petition was unsatisfactory.

His reinstatement sparked outrage
across the country, with some saying Buhari recalled him because he is from the
president’s state of Katsina.

Insiders had revealed that since
Yusuf was appointed on July 29, 2016, he had been violating every procurement
law, dishing out contracts to cronies.

TheCable learnt that the final
straw was the purchase of a Prado SUV by Yusuf for N58 million shortly before Ramadan,
though his approval limit was N2.5 million.

A number of Prado SUVs were
attached to his office, but he still went ahead to buy a new one, according to
insiders.

Yusuf had denied all the
allegations, maintaining that he was victimised for fighting corruption in
NHIS.